The Bealtaine Festival, Ireland’s national celebration of arts and creativity as we age, will return in May 2025, marking its 30th anniversary. Initiated by Age & Opportunity, the festival invites arts organisations of all kinds to participate by hosting events that embody the vibrant, evolving, and playful spirit of Bealtaine.
This year, Bealtaine calls upon organisations across the country, large and small, to contribute by organising events in their local areas throughout May 2025. The festival welcomes a diverse range of creative expressions, from music and choral performances to theatre, visual arts, dance, writing workshops, literature, circus performances, film screenings, storytelling, and more.
In celebration of three decades of Bealtaine, event organisers are encouraged to reflect on past events and look ahead to the future, exploring how the festival can continue to inspire.
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The highlight of the 30th-anniversary celebrations will be a Big Birthday Tea Party on Sunday, May 4. Local organisers are invited to join in the fun by hosting their own tea parties throughout the month, whether it’s a family gathering, an indoor tea dance, or a unique community event.
Continuing with the festival’s three-year theme, ‘Lust for Life’, Age & Opportunity encourages organisers to consider how the theme resonates with the broad spectrum of Bealtaine’s audiences when planning their events.
This year, the festival will also take a moment to honour the hundreds of events that have taken place across Ireland since Bealtaine’s inception in 1995. Event organisers are invited to share archive photos or videos that highlight the creativity and diversity of past Bealtaine events, which will be showcased on the festival’s social media channels leading up to May.
Among the exciting events in this year’s programme is the opening night presentation of Sean Millar’s Songs and Stories from Silver Stars, a theatrical song cycle telling the personal stories of older Irish gay men. Originally commissioned for Bealtaine 2008, this updated version promises to be a beautiful and poetic performance.
Additionally, the festival will feature Prom Night Portraits, a photographic exhibition by Donal Talbot, documenting the couples who participated in last year’s Prom Night event at Outhouse.
© 2025 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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